Blindsided
by BrokenButStillStanding
Summary: Halle, or rather Hall, is determined to be a SOLDIER. But there is one problem, she's a girl. Just when she thinks she's in for the clear, she is assigned to train under Genesis Rhapsodos, and she might just fall for him along the way.
1. Chapter 1

Today will be the day. Halle Peters glanced at her choppy short brown hair, the lack of womanly feathers she once cursed she now thanked. Ever since her father had died in the service of SOLDIER, her dream was to become one too. One problem though, she was a girl and SOLDIER was an exclusively male occupation. So she decided she would do something about that, as far as she knew they didn't check to closely during the medical exams unless there was something wrong with you. That's why when she made her fake ID, birth certificate and medical records she made sure to exclude the fact that she had a high level of OCD. The SOLDIER uniform fit snugly and she was glad she had decided to bind what little chest she had. She gave herself a wink in the mirror; she was defiantly passable for a man. Well a boy anyways. With that, she was on the way out the door.

The one thing she hadn't anticipated about Shinra was its complete lack of parking. She had spent almost 20 minutes just searching for a spot that wasn't too close to one of the Turks (they kind of scared her) and get into the building itself, just in time for examinations. She crossed her fingers as she was ushered into the medical room as the white coated doctor took a look at her medical records, he seemed frenzied and rushed as she sat down on the white table. He glanced at her before looking up and down.

"You ever have any problems? Health or mental wise?" He asked quickly and she shook her head.

"Good you can go through" The doctor said. Halle was surprised; he wasn't even going to take a closer look? Not that she was complaining. She filed into the room where they decide who gets to be a SOLDIER. The training room. Her heart raced with nervous excitement as she saw the 3 first class SOLDIERS standing before her with some other representatives of Shinra. Standing by 1st class Angeal Hewley was his apprentice, Zack Fair, bouncing up and down with energy as he talked away. Next was a very annoyed looking Sephiroth, the epitome of all SOLDIERS. And the fourth pair of mako blue eyes glaring out was the tall and intimidating Genesis Rhapsodos. She'd only heard rumors of what he did to those who crossed him and she hoped to never find out.

"Alright rookies. Here we see if you have what it takes to be in SOLDIER." Angeal spoke up from his place beside the others. Here we go.

The rest of the day was mentally and physically exhausting, it tested Halle's limits and she had been training for this moment since she was 14 years old. Now she was 18 and it seemed that all the training in the world couldn't have prepared her for this. She only hoped that her qualifications met their expectations. She stood in a sweaty mess next to all the other hopefuls while the group spoke with Shinra employees. She fiddled with the stick on number she wore, 126. Yes there were that many people trying for this, there were only room for 20 in the 3rd class soldier rank and she was trying not to vomit all over her feet from nerves.

"We will now call the numbers that progress to 3rd class, the rest of you may go." The SOLDIER executive, Lazard Deusericus, said.

"2, 5, 23, 45, 89, 62, 34, 90, 110, 20, 198, 210, 38, 9, 80, 76, 21, 72, 100, 126" He called out.

Halle wanted to collapse with relief and exhaustion, she wanted to run and scream with joy and suppressed the earth splitting grin threatening to come out. The rest of the Hopefuls filed out as she and the other 19 members stood with the same excitement reflecting in each other's eyes.

"Come with me" Lazard said as they filed in, she knew what was coming next. Mako injections, she had always hated the brown of her eyes but that wasn't the only reason she was excited. She would be stronger, faster, more resilient. Every man's dream (and women in some cases). The only thing she feared was the pain, some backed out before it was done because of the excruciating pain of the process.

"Hey" a voice said to her once they had gotten in line. She snapped out of her daydream and looked forwards towards a man in front of her, around her age. He had long blonde hair to his jawline and friendly green eyes.

"I'm Kyle" He said and offered a hand. She quickly returned his handshake.

"I'm Hall". She offered. Sure, Hall was an odd name but so was Sephiroth for that matter.

"I've been looked forwards to this forever" He said, easily starting a conversation, she wished she could be that confident but she nodded and smiled to ease the nerves.

"Yeah me too." She said, but it seemed their short conversation was coming to a close as he was ushered into one of the injection rooms.

"Good luck" he shot at her before disappearing behind the door. She gulped and tried not to fidget as she was beckoned to another station. She took confident steps forwards though she was anything but. Once inside the room there was another sterile white room with a white chair in the middle.

"Hello" a frightening looking man with a long black ponytail and round glasses in a white lab coat said to her.

"My name is Professor Hojo, now the more you hold still the less this hurts" he said routinely, she doubted he actually cared if he hurt her or not. He flicked the tip of a long needle and she gulped, she absolutely hated needles, but she refused to back out now as her heart raced in fear and every instinct she had told her to run. Unfortunately that seemed to be what most people did because no sooner had she thought that, shackles bound her hands and feet to the chair. She grew panicked, she could do this, but the screams coming from the next room dimmed her hopes. She bit her lip until she could taste the metallic blood in her mouth as he stuck the needle into her skin. The pain was almost instant as her cells battled with Jenova's. She let out a small cry of pain but resumed biting her lip, she could feel how deep her teeth were cutting but she had no other choice. That's when she saw something that almost made her lose her composure. Lazard was outside her window looking in with a raised eyebrow. He scribbled something on a notepad before walking along.

She noticed how much her lip was hurting when the pain in the injection site stopped. As she was escorted out of the room she glanced at herself in the reflective surface of the doors, her bright electric blue eyes glanced back at her and she couldn't resist a small smile. The 2nd class SOLDIER stopped abruptly by a door and she had to stop in order to prevent herself from running into him.

"This is your room" he said and left as soon as he had appeared. She took in a deep breath and entered the dwelling.

"Hey!" a voice called joyfully as soon as she appeared. She backed up quickly as Kyle yelled in her face.

"Whoops sorry I get excited sometimes" he said with an ear to ear smile. His eyes were blue as well now and she found it in herself to give him a small smile.

"So did it hurt for you?" He asked, flopping on the nearest bed.

"A little" She said, disguising her voice.

"Really? It hurt like CRAP for me" He said and she was surprised by his blunt truthfulness. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a knock at the door. She sighed and turned around to see another 2nd class staring at her.

"Hall Peterson?" He asked her, she had only changed her name a bit in order to recognize it quickly.

"Yes sir" she said and he beckoned out.

"Lazard wants to see you." He said bluntly and she began to follow him, ignoring Kyles worried look. It seemed every guy was this blunt.

By the time she reached his office she was once again trying not to vomit, she was so sure that he had found out about her true identity and more importantly gender. She stepped into his office slowly.

"Sit down" He said, leaning back into his chair. He took a good long look at her face before speaking.

"not many people refrain from screaming during a mako injection." He said and she cleared her throat, nodding. It was silent for another long minute before he spoke again.

"I'll cut to the chase Mister Peterson. I'd like for you to be a 1st class apprentice." He said, the shock must have been evident on her face because he raised an amused eyebrow.

"Well Hewley already has an apprentice and I'm not cruel enough to stick anyone with Sephiroth. You'll start training with Rhapsodos first thing tomorrow morning." He said. Then he waved her off

"Go now. I'm done with you."

She couldn't believe it.

She was going to be Genesis Rhapsodos's apprentice.

Crap.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're kidding me right" The red commander said with a dry and severe tone, looking Halle over skeptically.

"Not at all" Lazard said with his commanding voice. Halle tried not to fidget under the melting stare of the 1st class soldier. He obviously wasn't happy about the prospect of training her.

"You will get started as soon as possible. Do I make myself clear?" Lazard said when Genesis didn't respond. All the man gave in acknowledgment was a nod of his head. Halle had to hold herself back from grabbing Lazard's arm as he left to prevent her being alone with the irritated redhead. She stood stock still as the man in the red cloak circled her in a predatory fashion. If she had still been a female, she might have accused him of thinking ungentlemanly thoughts, but she knew better.

"Well then I suppose I'll have to see what you can do new blood" He said curtly and she nodded, the shaggy brown hair she now donned falling in her eyes. She struggled to keep up with his broad steps and mentally scolded herself for having to think about even keeping up. As they entered the gym she spotted the spikey haired boy that she knew to be Zack Fair with his mentor and Genesis's friend, Angeal Hewley. Genesis swiftly walked to Angeal and they both stalked off into the corner to speak for a moment, leaving Zack and herself alone.

"Hi there, I'm Zack. What are you doing here?" The young man said with a hyper bounce as he held out his hand. As Halle reached out to shake it she had to restrain from yelping as his grip was much stronger than she had anticipated.

"I'm Hall. Genesis's apprentice." She said and Zack stood still for a moment before letting out a loud laugh full of mirth.

"That's funny. Genesis would never take on an apprentice." He said but when he noticed she wasn't laughing along with him his expression grew to one of shock

"Wait really?" he said amazed "He took an apprentice?"

Halle shook her head slowly

"Well I don't think he really wants to" She stated, but didn't get a chance to elaborate because at that moment the apprentice's mentors returned.

True to her suspicions, Genesis kept Halle on her toes all day with drills and laps that left her out of breath. She pushed herself harder than she ever thought she could go until dinner time. The girl was so exhausted she didn't eat and just dragged herself to the room she shared with Kyle. She knew her roommate was away in the dining hall so she didn't worry too much about keeping up her façade. She felt the sick feeling she'd had for about half the day return and she quickly dashed to the small restroom that adjoined their room. She was glad she had decided not to eat because anything she might have came up with a heave. She leaned against the wall for a moment before deciding to take the opportunity her roommate had provided her by leaving and taking a shower. She locked the door before undressing and letting the cool icy water cascade down her back. The bandages for her chest lay in a heap beside her as well as her sweaty uniform. When she finished her blissful shower she wrapped and dressed herself again before exiting the room. Only to see Zack Fair sitting on her bed. She froze before remembering the game she had to keep up as he held out his fist. She quickly bumped her knuckles with his, panic slowly disappearing to curiosity.

"Hey Hall, I noticed you weren't at the dining hall so I brought you a tray" He said gesturing to the blue plastic tray filled with enough food to fill an army on her bedside table. She was genuinely touched, she didn't think anyone had ever done something like this for her before, let alone here.

"Thanks" She said before picking the tray up and digging in, she supposed she didn't have to worry about manners around these men.

"Man, Genesis was hard on you today. He sincerely hates you." Zack said and Halle looked up with a raised eyebrow

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Zack" She said, making sure her voice was low enough.

"Nah, he'll get used to you. The only reason he hasn't killed me is because Angeal likes me" Zack said with a shrug. A shot of longing shot through Halle

"I wish I had Angeal as a mentor" She said and Zack laughed

"Well sure I guess, he's hard on me but at least he didn't try to dehydrate me to death on my first day" He said with a pointed look at her. She laughed with him. They spoke for another hour about home, families, and their past. Halle had to alter hers a bit of course but they learned a lot about each other. She learned that Zack was from Gongaga Village. In return she told him about her hometown, Junon. They both shared the dream of becoming 1st class one day and by the end of the night she felt that she could count on Zack to have her back should she need it. A quarter past 7, Kyle burst into the room with a flourish. When he spotted Zack he stopped for a short moment before quickly introducing himself.

Yes, Halle thought to herself. She would do just fine here.


	3. Chapter 3

The one thing Halle hadn't accounted for when she joined SOLDIER was her hormones. The next morning when she walked into the training center bright and early she almost had a heart attack. There were all three 1st class SOLDIERS. Shirtless. They seemed to be finishing their own training; sweat shone on their skin, her mentor (who before now she hadn't thought of as attractive) ruffled his hair with a towel and spotted her. She shut her mouth quickly and headed over for another hard day of training. She silently prayed that the men would put on shirts so she could actually think, but it only got worse when Zack showed up and after an hour of training proceeded to remove his shirt too. Halle thought she was going to hyperventilate, silently cursing herself for allowing a pretty figure to distract her so much, she was exhausted and soaked in her own sweat almost two hours into the exercise. Her training shirt stuck to her like a second skin, she was once again grateful she had wrapped her chest again. When she and Zack were allowed for a moment to drink some water, he wandered over to her.

"Aren't you burning up? You look really sweaty. Just take off your shirt dude, we're all guys here" He said with a laugh and she forced one as well

"No it's really okay" She said, he frowned briefly before wandering back to his mentor again.

"Hall" She heard Genesis call from over her shoulder. She came to attention, saluting briefly before returning to her at ease position. Genesis sighed before waving her off.

"We are setting out on a mission first thing tomorrow morning, take the rest of the day off" he said, but she could barely hear him over how dizzy she was. She would have ended up taking the day off anyways, because that's when she passed out.

"HEY" she heard a voice shout before she bolted up. She noticed a bright red Zack looking away from her, they were in her dorm room. She blinked hard before she felt the breeze on her chest. Letting out a shriek, she grabbed the blanket she had over her and covered herself. She leaned her head back and tried hard not to cry, this was her worst nightmare.

"I'm sorry" Zack said "I didn't mean to look, I just well I didn't know" he said, rubbing the back of his head. She felt as if she was going to vomit, she couldn't go three days without being caught.

"Who else knows" She said quietly, not bothering to disguise her voice.

"No one" Zack replied "I was told to bring you here and get some layers off of you. I really am sorry." He said.

"No, it wasn't your fault." She said and paused "Are you going to tell anyone?" she said softly and he sighed.

"Well I presume you have a good reason" he said and raised an eyebrow

"Yes, no, well kind of." She said, still clutching the blanket to her chest.

"I have always wanted to be SOLDIER, my father was one before me and it's all I ever wanted. I would give anything to be here." She said with a sigh and Zack nodded.

"No" He said

"What?"

"No, I won't tell anyone" he said with finality. Halle covered her mouth and sighed with relief.

"Thank you, thank you so much Zack you don't even know" She said before choking up.

"You better get a shirt on" He said and gave her a small smile "You can trust me"

And she did.


	4. Chapter 4

Bright and early the next morning Halle, Zack and the 1st class SOLDIERS stood, awaiting the helicopter that would take them to the destination. One thing Halle absolutely hated was being kept in the dark. Not one word was uttered to the apprentices about where they were going or what they were doing there. Halle held her tongue; she already knew Genesis didn't particularly like her, so she stood in a standoffish manner off to the side, allowing Zack to do the complaining. The SOLDIERS were foing an impressive job of ignoring him and at last he quieted down, when the helicopter landed. She could suddenly feel her hands get clammy. She could fool every one of her true identity when she was in her own private room, but now she had to live in the constant presence of the very people who would condemn her if they knew her secret. She could only hope that Zack would remain true to his word and keep his promise to stay silent about who she really was. Who knows, maybe he would even help her. Halle had no further time to reflect as she was ushered into the helicopter. Genesis, Sephiroth and Angeal had already taken their seats in the circular cabin of the helicopter. Zack stood, waiting for her to take a seat next to him and making sure their superiors were occupied before whispering over to her

"Hall, what are you going to do?" he said quietly.

Halle sighed, pondering her options before she answered him

"Nothing" she decided with a sigh

"Nothing? What do you mean nothing? If they figure out you're a girl-" Zack whispered hurriedly before being cut off

"I KNOW what will happen if they catch me Zack, I knew that from the beginning". Their conversation could not continue, for they had gained Angeal's attention.

"What are you two whispering about?" he inquired

"Do you really want to know?" an exasperated Genesis exclaimed. Angeal just laughed,

"No I suppose not" he said and Zack stuck out his tongue, making him laugh even more, when his laughter died he turned his attention to Halle.

"So boy, why do you want to be SOLDIER?" he asked. Zack looked almost panicked for a moment before Halle kicked him discreetly. She decided there wasn't much she could do but tell the truth. Well, part of it anyways.

"My father was SOLDIER when he was young" she said, when no one said anything she continued "I was only 5, but I remember a 2nd class SOLDIER come by my door. He spoke to my mother and by the time he left she was sobbing. When I asked her what the matter was she just hugged me and said very quietly 'daddy isn't coming home for a while'. He never did. He died." When she finished her speaking she looked up, every eye in the room was on her. That's when she saw something that made her elated and scared at the same time, Genesis Rhapsodos had a look of understanding in his eyes, staring at her.

He nodded in consolation, and went back to his book.


	5. Chapter 5

When the helicopter landed Halle could not have been more surprised. As they stepped out of the helicopter a 5 star resort was all she could see.

"What are we doing here?" An amazed sounding Zack asked the SOLDIER trio behind us. No one answered and they were beckoned inside. Angeal stood at the front desk and spoke for a moment before returning with the keys to four rooms. Zack and Halle followed him up to a room that was at least three times the size of the common area for the 3rd class SOLDIER troops. As they gaped in amazement Genesis and Sephiroth squeezed past them and into the room. Once the door was shut, Genesis answers Zack's question.

"We are not here to relax, we will play it like we will but in reality we will not be. We are here to discreetly get some answers. We do not know who it is, but someone that works at this resort has been selling Shinra secrets."

"Isn't this more of the Turks job?" Halle asked and Genesis nods in acknowledgment

"It would be, but it is strictly SOLDIER secrets they are leaking." he responds

"How are they getting the information?" Zack interjects and Angeal answers

"That is what we are hoping to find out."

"Won't they recognize you three?" Zack says again and Sephioth nods

"That is why you and Halle will be going in for us"


	6. Chapter 6

There they were, undercover and trying to hassle some information out of the poor pool boy. A pool boy who happened to be very attractive. Once Zack and Halle had gotten rid of him Zack slapped Halle in the arm

"Really Hall? Wanna be any more obvious?" he said with a hushed whisper. Halle shrugged

"Hey, I'm still a girl who has not had any romantic interaction in who knows how long!" she said and Zack laughed

"Keep it down okay" he said chuckling and Halle smiled back. They spotted Angeal walking up to them with two metal pieces.

"Here you go, we will communicate with you both through this ear piece, I have to go back to the room now" he said and left before either of them could say anything. Halle fitted the piece in her ear, as soon as she had done so Genesis' voice rang clearly through there.

"You and Zack need to get into the 'Prime Club' on the east side of the hotel, it's pretty exclusive so do what you have to do to get in. Our suspect is in there." he said and Zack nodded to her, signaling he got the message.

As soon as they had gotten to the club and tried to walk in, two giant bouncers stopped them

"And you are?" They said. Zack spat out their names quickly and the two bouncers laughed

"Yeah, sorry kid but this is couples only night and uh..." he said trailing off. Zack grabbed Halle's arm and dragged her off into a hallway before speaking to Angeal through his headset

"Angeal, it's couples only night. What the hell do we do?" he said and Genesis sighed

"Which one of you is smaller?" he said through the headset and Halle nervously responded...

"me..." she said and he laughed.

* * *

When Halle came out of her hotel room her heart was racing like a jack-rabbit. If this would not get her caught, she did not know what would. There she was, dressed like a girl again. A brown wig on her head that was done up in an elaborate bun, wearing a pristine white dress that Genesis had produced out of nowhere, it had a floor length skirt, the waist was tight and layered and the bodice had a strapless heart neckline, a white lace turtleneck and long sleeve finish. She was also wearing a pair of high heels underneath it, she thought she was going to cry.

When she walked out of the room Genesis and the others did a double take

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you were really a woman" Genesis said

"Don't look so nervous. No one will figure you out, you are tiny enough. How the hell do you carry a sword the size that you do?" Sephiroth said

Zack walked out of the bathroom just then in a tuxedo. He looked at Halle with a horrified and shocked face. But together they walked down to the club again and passed the bouncers with no problem, Halle's arm on Zack's. He gave her a sharp look and reached for his pen, scribbling on a napkin.

'What do we do? Is anyone catching on? You really look like a girl!" he scribbled, Halle took the napkin from him and scribbled right back

'I don't think so, and that would be because I AM A GIRL' she wrote. Zack sighed and together they walked towards their target. Everyone was twirling around and around the dance floor, more like a ballroom than a club. Zack took her hand and spun her around until she was thrown into the arms of their target, now the butterflies returned. After a moment she managed to spin with him to an adjacent room. He smirked when he saw how far they had gotten and stopped

"Well well. Looks like it's just you and me" he said, leaning in, he did not get far before Zack's blade was at his neck.

"What do you know" he said with a low voice before stopping. The man froze and answered rapidly

"Please, I was paid. I was paid by...by Johnny Redson! I just passed on what he told me please!" he said and Zack released him.

* * *

Zack had returned to the room late that night, while Halle stood by the pool, trying to get some air before returning to her job. She was in her normal male clothes once again, she was so close to getting caught today she couldn't fathom it. She was about to get up and return to Zack when she was grabbed from behind and shoved against the pool house wall

"I know your secret" a voice whispered as a stench wafted towards her from the attackers breath. She looked up to see the same man from the party, the one that had confessed, apparently without Zack he had no fear of attacking her. He ran his hands up her sides and she tried not to scream, the last thing she wanted was to be found out by her superiors in this way, she would rather be defiled. But when she felt her shirt being removed and his hands in her pants she was so scared she didn't even care. She opened her mouth to scream when the weight was pulled off her. She was sure it was Zack, coming to look for her, but when she looked up to see the man being pummeled into the ground she didn't see him.

Instead she saw a very angry looking red commander. He looked at her with an intense glare.

"Wait there. You have a lot of explaining to do." he spat at her


	7. Chapter 7

Genesis was livid. He was livid with his apprentice for lying to him, livid with himself for falling for it, and livid at this man for daring to lay a hand on any woman against her will. The man glanced up with wide eyes as Genesis shoved him away harshly, he grabbed Hall's arm and dragged him- no her, to his hotel room. He locked the door and roughly shoved her into a chair, standing with his arms crossed

"You have three minutes to explain" he snapped and she flinched back as if he were going to strike her. That didn't sit well with Genesis, he was a man to be respected but while under his instruction never to be feared.

"My father" she started, voice obviously higher and more feminine "was in SOLDIER. All I ever wanted was to be one of you. Whats wrong with women huh? Why are men SO much more able than them? I got past trials, I am good okay!" she said, voice raising with each word as she stood from her chair. Genesis got angry, how dare she!

"WOMEN" he shouted "are a danger!"

"TO WHO!" she screamed

"TO US!" he yelled before calming a bit "what would have happened if I'd been too late. That disgusting pig had his hands all over you. What if you'd been molested or raped" he spat, feeling her flinch but not stopping to let it sink in

"That would DESTROY any male comrade you had, they would think it was their fault that they didn't protect you. It's in our instinct." he half explained half shouted. She got quiet all of a sudden. She stood up, still in her dress. Her dress which, now that Genesis could take a good look at her, fit her in all the right places. Which reminded him, "and if we were to let you stay, most of these men haven't seen a woman let alone been with one in a very long time. Do you want that?" he asked her. She remained quiet before speaking quietly

"Yes" she said and he gaped at her in shock

"Yes? What do you mean yes! You would be defiled in order to be here?" he said in disbelief. She was quiet again before meeting his eyes with a strong, if slightly tearful gaze.

"Yes. I would avoid it if possible but yes I would." she said and Genesis had no words. This girl was like nothing he'd ever seen before. She got up and headed for the door

"Where do you think your going?" he demanded

"To pack...your kicking me out right?" she said. He paused for a moment before responding

"No. On one condition"


	8. Chapter 8

"On one condition" Halle heard him say and she automatically became wary.

"What" she said and he stepped closer to her, almost in her face

"You and I are not to be apart. I will be with you at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I will be with you at all training and on all missions. I will not leave your side, if you are going to stay I am NOT going to let anything happen like what almost just did." he demanded. This made Halle's temper spike

"I can take care of myself" she spat

"No. You can't." he said

"I could have handled that!" she cried and he huffed

"You called that handling it? When I found you he had his hands down your top!" he said with a slight sarcastic laugh. It was quiet for a moment before she spoke

"Fine. I agree to your condition" she said spitefully and he nodded as she left the room.

"Wait" he called and she stopped

"Who else knows?" he asked, back still turned to her

"Zack" she said after a moment and he nodded.

"Good night." he said and heard the tap of her footsteps out the door.


End file.
